


Like a Teen Romance Movie

by wellthisisprettyrisque (collettephinz)



Series: Dead-Alive Study Time [1]
Category: All Time Low, Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Alex, Awkward Incidents, College AU, M/M, We love awkward Alex, my boner for coffee is back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1851121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collettephinz/pseuds/wellthisisprettyrisque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex had just been trying to get some caffeine in his veins before he did nothing until class, but then the world decided to remind him that he was a klutz and he might possibly be gay now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Teen Romance Movie

**Author's Note:**

> shut up I love college AUs okay 
> 
> these boys aren't mine but I wish they were because I'd keep them in my room and rewrite all their songs so they were all ballads of love from Alex to Jack and vice versa and hey free porn

Coffee was basically the only thing running through Alex Gaskarth's bloodstream by the beginning of his sophomore year in college. It was kind of surprising, but at the same time, really not surprising at all. He'd finalized his major just at the end of his second semester, choosing to study and achieve the daunting task of obtaining a major in History and then transferring to a specialization school for teaching, and the History major alone would require a grand total of 120 credits, minimum. He was lucky he'd been interested in taking his required liberal studies freshman year, or he'd have to study for five. 

But Alex would still have to work the textbooks a lot more than he would have preferred, and coffee was going to become his professor, his best friend, his girlfriend, and his worst enemy. He'd become a reclusive hermit with stunted growth from all the coffee ingestion, suffering from psychosomatic seizures due to the caffeine. Alex's spine would contort and he'd become something of a hunched back, hideous monster, with one eye permanently blind because he'd stabbed himself with a mixing straw and all his hair would fall out. The insomnia would destroy him, and the nightmares would travel from his dreams to the real world, hallucinations driving him mad. His dick would shrivel up and fall and okay, that was enough.

Alex grimaced as he walked into the Starbucks, mentally berating himself for coming up with a character worthy of his lit-major roommate. Yeesh, talk about a slippery slope. He wasn't usually one so privy with worst case scenarios, opting to choose a brighter outlook on life. Take this bigass line to order his coffee, for example. It would give him some extra time to decide what he wanted to drink (total bullshit, Alex knew what he wanted before he'd left the cozy home he shared with his roommate, Rian, but he made himself feel less stupid while standing in line by entertaining the idea of getting something else and staring at the menu).

... This was pointless.

Alex sighed and did his best not to glare at the eight people in front of him, particularly the elderly woman at the register with the walker who was mumbling incoherently while squinting upwards. Someone should have been proactive and decided what they wanted before they ordered.

Then again, she was old as fuck and probably wouldn't be around much longer, so Alex decided not to begrudge her. She was probably too senile to even notice that she was pissing everyone off. It wasn't like Alex had anywhere to be, really. He had a good two hours before his Anthropology class, the last of his liberal studies requirements. Alex had just planned on grabbing some coffee from the Starbucks two blocks from his home and then head back to dick around and watch Family Guy. 

Alex began paying attention again when one of the workers gently led the old woman aside so the line could be taken care of while this one martyr worked with the woman in a kind fashion to get her order set and made. The line itself went much quicker because everyone'd had that extra time to mull over the oh so difficult decision of their choice of coffee. Before he knew it, Alex was at the register. He grinned at the guy, noticing he was a new because Alex hadn't seen his face, tossed down a bill and said, "Venti Caffe Americano with wip, under the name Peter Pan," because he loved hearing that name being called into the store. 

The guy nodded, took the bill, gave him his change, and then Alex was left to stand in yet another line. But his drink was one of the easiest on the menu and provided him with a grand three hundred milligrams of caffeine, so he was content. Alex took the warm cup he was handed when Peter Pan was called, placed it in Starbuck's patented little cardboard holder, and turned to leave.

Then smacked into a guy with black hair that had a single strip of bleach blond through it with enough force to pop the top off his steaming coffee and accidentally poured the whole thing over the guy's white t-shirt.

Holy fucking shit, this could not get any worse. One, the coffee was scalding, and the guy was just standing there, looking down at his body with his mouth open in what could possibly be a silent scream of pain. Second, this guy was abnormally attractive, and it was abnormal for two reasons (one, he was way too attractive to be human, two, Alex wasn't gay and he was finding this guy attractive, so that was pretty fucking abnormal). Third, the coffee was fucking scalding. And fourth, the very attractive guy was wearing a white t-shirt and this was worse than pouring something on a girl in a white t-shirt because girls dressed in layers when they wore white, but no, now this attractive guy had scalding coffee poured down his chest and white t-shirt and he was fucking gorgeous (wow, Alex might be gay or something), and his nipples were showing and so was his toned body and his awesome tattoo of Jack Skellington on his bicep and the now-sheer cloth was clinging to him like paint and this was just too much.

Alex started laughing hysterically, just staring in absolute horror before finally jumping into action.

"I am so, so sorry," he nearly screeched, still laughing like a banshee, scrambling for the napkins on the counter beside him. The guy was still standing there in shock, still staring down at his basically naked torso in stunned silence. Alex wanted to smash his head open on the tiled floor, he was so embarrassed. "H-here, let me, uh... Let me, just," and Alex bit his lip before going with his instincts and tearing off his own Blink-182 t-shirt, manually lifting the shocked guy's arms up and pulling it over his head to avoid further exposure to the busy Starbucks. Alex had a black wife beater on underneath the t-shirt, so he wasn't flashing anyone his pecs, and that was really a win at this point. "I'm so sorry, so very sorry," and he was rambling at this point, wiping the excess coffee off the guy's arms, not even thinking that the guy wouldn't want to be touched by the person who'd spilled mother fucking scalding hot coffee down his shirt. 

Then Alex heard chuckling and looked up into an exasperated, yet warm face that was so painfully beautiful he felt his heart stop.

Fucking hell, I am now gay.

"It's okay," said that voice, and wow, it was fucking music of the highest art, degree, respect, whatever, it was melodic and soothing and Alex could heard a twinge of mirth (and a bit of a North Eastern twang) in there that made Alex forget there was anyone else in the whole building. "I'm pretty sure none of my burns are serious enough to require medical attention, so it's all good."

"I'm sorry," Alex breathed out, his brain mush at this point. Gorgeous, chocolate colored eyes met Alex's ordinary brown ones, and all the air escaped him in a gust. 

"Don't worry about it," the guy said, smiling a bit.

Alex was silent, before nodding his head sharply and ducking to walk past the guy he'd just fucking fallen in love with, when a hand gripped his upper arm firmly and he was pulled back to look at the guy, but it was almost painful, looking at this guy's face and knowing he could never have it.

"I'm Jack," the guy said, and wow. Wow. Alex had never been entranced by just a fucking name, but this was apparently a day for firsts. "Let me buy you another drink? It was just as much my fault." Jack didn't wait for an answer, walking to the pick-up counter and snapping his fingers. "Hey, Fuentes! Can I get another..." Jack paused, looking into the shirt Alex had given him and frowning at his own white shirt. Alex didn't get it until Jack looked back up and said, "Can I get a Caffee Americano with wip?"

"Sure thing, boss-man," Mike said, and Alex knew it was Mike Fuentes because Mike had been working here since Alex had started attending the university. And did he call Jack boss-man? Jack worked here? Without Alex ever knowing? He found it hard to believe that he'd never known of the existence of such a beautiful creature working at his favorite coffee shop.

"Don't call me that," Jack told Mike with a look, waiting patiently as Mike stopped what he'd been making before to finish Jack's request. Mike handed it over with a smirk, and Alex felt a surge of jealousy race through him, because they were close, and Alex wanted to be close with Jack, but two people crowding on one person wasn't really okay, and Jack probably wouldn't like to have a three way, and wow, Alex suddenly really needed that coffee. The god that was Jack (who Alex was beginning to notice wore Alex's shirt fabulously) handed him the cup with a grin. "Here, hope that's what you wanted."

"Thanks," Alex said dumbly, lost in those green eyes that shone like gems. He took a sip and it was like fucking magic. He should probably introduce himself. "My name--"

"Alex Gaskarth," Jack finished for him with a gracious nod of his head, and once again, Alex was stunned into stupidity. Jack smiled, almost shyly, and Alex's heart did something weird. "You're in my Anthropology class. You've got a pretty unique name, so I kinda noticed and then you would say here, and I associated your name with your face. I'm not a stalker!" and that last bit was added hurriedly, like he was scared Alex would get the wrong idea. But really, he was too busy being caught up on the fact that he shared at class with this god of beauty and had never noticed.

"Are you really in my class?"

Jack's smile grew into something more patient and turned around and how was-- oh, wait, Alex recognized the back of his head.

"You sit three rows in front of me," Alex remembered aloud, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry," and he took another sip. Obviously his head wasn't as clear as it could be.

"It's no problem."

Alex nodded. Then blurted out the next thing in his head. "Wanna hang out before class?" He nearly smacked himself the second he'd said it, because he'd just spilled fucking coffee on this guy and--

"If I'm allowed to head back to my dorm and clean up first, sure."

"Or, you could come to my house that's two blocks away." Also a stupid thing to suggest, but he was gonna roll with it. "My roommate's probably still asleep, but he won't mind. And you could probably find something that fits better there, or just wash your shirt." God, wow, he was starting to sound like a creeper.

But Jack smiled like it was perfectly okay and said, "I'd like that," and yep. This would forever be remembered as a day of firsts. The first time Alex had spilled coffee on a stranger, the first time he'd called a guy attractive, the first time he'd realized he was gay, the first time he'd ever fallen in love, and the first time he'd actually talked to the person he loved.

Alex was suddenly very excited for the next two hours and Anthropology.

**Author's Note:**

> why can't this happen in real liiiiife


End file.
